Dear Parents and Guardians,
It has been wonderful to welcome students back and to see everyone settling into routine. Homeroom assignments and course timetables are now finalized, and Physical Education along with complementary classes began yesterday. Please remind your child to always bring proper footwear for PE. For Grades 7 to 9, we are closely monitoring the return from lunch and ask for your support in reminding students to return by 11:35 am. We want to help students build good habits early in the year so that they learn to manage their time and return ready to learn.
Athletics are off to an active start with tryouts this week for boys and girls soccer as well as cross country. Basketball for both junior and senior teams will be coming up shortly next week. We encourage students to take a chance and try something new. It is always worth the risk, and you never know what opportunities may come from the experience.
As part of our start up updates, enrollment is currently fluctuating between 715 and 720 students. While a decline was anticipated from last year’s 800 as a result of boundary changes in 2023, this is a bit lower than the 760 projected. This has meant some staffing adjustments, including a reduction of our educational assistant support hours from 45 to 30 per week. While this does impact the additional literacy and numeracy support we can provide, teachers are working together to maximize resources amongst grade teams. This may involve regrouping students across homerooms to provide targeted small group intervention. If your child is part of this support, teachers will communicate directly with you.
A big thank you goes out to Ms. Tompkins and her team for organizing a fantastic Welcome Back BBQ. It was wonderful to see so many families join us. Community is at the heart of what we do, and the connections between students, staff, and families make middle school such a rewarding place. Our work goes beyond classroom walls and is strengthened by our partnership with you.
Looking ahead, Spirit Week begins next week with details included in the announcements below. Our Healthy Hunger Fun Lunch program, sponsored by School Council, will also begin soon, with the first lunch scheduled for September 25. Families can look forward to ordering from a variety of vendors almost every Thursday, including Subway, Edo Japan, Tim Hortons, Pizza 73, Papa John’s, occasionally McDonald’s and many more.
We hope the smoky skies are behind us and that we can enjoy some late summer weather moving forward. Thank you for your continued support as we begin the year, and please 2 | 3 do not hesitate to reach out to me at nmlisi@cbe.ab.ca if you need anything. Wishing you and your families a wonderful weekend.
Warm regards,
Dr. Nancy Lisi
Principal